Sweet Violet - Vancouver Island Wild Medicinal Plant
- Cole Schoonover
- Mar 24
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 31
Sweet Violets are calling - hidden along the edges of forests, emerging from fallen leaves, the delicate flowers have appeared welcoming the start of spring.
Sweet Violets grow on the forest floor, protected from the harsh winter conditions by leaf mulch; they typically are found at the forest edge where there is plenty of indirect sunlight. Also commonly found close to water sources or standing water these small plants can be easy to miss but prolific once you adjust your eyes - you’ll see them everywhere!
Sweet Violets have heart-shaped leaves, and live quite low to the ground; the flower can come in many colours but will always have 5 petals. Sweet Violets are the most fragrant of the violets, but Heartsease is another delicious violet - boasting a mild wintergreen flavour.
How are Violets used medicinally?
Sweet Violets thrive in dark, damp environments as such they tend to have a moistening and cooling effect on the body. This makes Violet an excellent herb for quelling inflammation, soothing mucosal tissues, and calming an agitated mindset. Violets also have a stimulating effect on the lymphatic system of the body, encouraging lymphatic flow to support conditions such as cysts, swelling of lymph nodes, breast mastitis, and edema.
Across most cultures Violet has consistently been associated with lung health and function - Muskogee herbalist Tis Mal Crow notes how the branching pattern of the stems and the cool, moist environment they grow in all indicate that they will have an effect on the lungs (1). The softening and releasing aspects of Violet lend it to being an excellent herb of choice when the mind becomes rigid and easily agitated - such as with damaging thought patterns, chronic stress, recurring headaches, and bad habits.
Are wild Violets safe for everyone?
Violet is considered a very gentle medicine, mild enough for children and with no known drug interactions this mighty medicinal can be safely used by the whole family. If you are harvesting for the family I highly recommend growing this plant at home, it is very easy to grow, spreading by runners much like strawberry plants, and provides some much needed colour during the colder days in our gardens.
How to harvest from your wild Violet patch -
Positively identify your patch of Sweet Violets. If the patch is small try to either collect a plant and then grow in your own garden (it’s very easy), or come back to the patch in the coming years and wait until you can get a reasonable harvest. If the patch is quite large then harvest some of the larger leaves, only collecting a couple from a single plant leaving enough for it to continue to thrive. You can also collect the flower of the plant to use for medicine, try to only take one flower from each plant so that it is able to create a seed pod for the following year. Come back to your patch as the season moves on, it will put out new leaves and flowers for you to enjoy.
How to use wild Violets in your herbal medicine preparations -
Once you have your cut leaves and flowers, rinse them with water or leave them to be rinsed in the rain if that’s available. Then once they are cleaned lay them spaced out on a drying tray or rack to get most of the moisture off the plant material. Once your leaves are dry to the touch and somewhat flexible you have a few options:
Dry them completely - dry the herb completely ensuring there is good airflow so that no mould occurs. Keep out of direct sunlight to preserve the vibrancy of the plants. Once they have been dried you can use Violet in any of your herbal preparations. Dry Violets can be added to honey, incorporated in bath salts, or even made into a cough syrup!
Infuse immediately - fresh violet contains more of the essential oils and is considered more effective for soothing the mucosal tissues. I like to infuse fresh Violets in Organic vegetable glycerine to make a delicious gut soothing glycerite.
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References:
Crow, T.M. (2001). Native plants, native healing: Traditional Muskogee way. Native Voices.
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